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BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


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DRAG 
BUCKET  GOLD 


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NEW  YORK  ENGINEERING  COMPANY 

2  RECTOR  STREET 
NEW  YORK 


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PLACER  MINING   SIMPLIFIED 


The  New  York  Engineering  Company  presents  herewith  two 
improved  and  perfected  devices  for  use  in  placer  mining  that  have 
proved  invaluable  in  the  operation  of  properties  that  could  not  other- 
wise have  been  worked.    The  first  of  these. 

THE  DRAG  BUCKET  GOLD  DREDGE, 

is  especially  designed  to  overcome  those  difficulties  encountered  in 
rough  and  hilly  ground,  where  the  ordinary  gold  dredge  cannot  be 
installed.  It  is  most  economical  in  operation,  of  large  capacity,  of  com- 
paratively small  bulk,  can  be  readily  mounted  and  dismounted,  and 
easily  shifted  from  point  to  point.  It  will  recover  all  values  to  a  high 
degree  of  efficiency,  and  its  first  cost  is  low ;  what  more  could  be  de- 
sired in  a  machine  so  admirably  adapted  to  surface  conditions  of  the 
character  described.    The  second  device  is  our 

"SPECIAL"   CLAY  WASHING   MACHINE, 

which  positively  and  completely  eliminates  those  obstacles  which  have 
hitherto  baffled  all  attempts  to  successfully  recover  gold  values  from 
clayey  ground  or  from  the  saprolite  deposits  of  the  South,  or  from 
ground  in  which  clay  is  largely  mixed  with  the  gravel.  These 
machines,  taking  the  place  of  the  ordinary  gold  saving  tables,  thor- 
oughly disintegrate  the  clay;  they  have  proved  their  efficiency  by  re- 
covering all  the  values  in  deposits  that  have  been  abandoned  as  un- 
workable by  any  hitherto  known  methods. 

A  detailed  description  of  both  the  "Drag  Bucket  Gold  Dredge" 
and  the  Clay  Washing  Machine  is  given  in  the  following  pages. 

Respectfully, 


April,  1910. 


The  New  York  Engineering  Company, 

2  Rector  Street,  New  York. 


NEW        Y  O  R  K     /'  'BIT  G  I  N  E  E  R/'I'iSr  Oi  i     COMPANY 


The  "drag  BUCKET  GOLD  DREDGE" 


There  are  many  pieces  of  placer  ground  not  large  enough  to  war- 
rant the  installation  of  a  gold  dredge,  or  the  topography  of  which 
will  not  permit  of  their  being  worked  by  the  ordinary  gold  dredging 
methods.  Under  either  of  these  conditions  the  new  "Drag  Bucket 
Gold  Dredge"  makes  an  ideal  installation — one  that  calls  for  a  com- 
paratively small  investment,  is  readily  erected,  is  of  large  capacity, 
and  economical  in  operation.  It  can  be  installed  at  small  expense, 
and  may  be  readily  moved  from  one  place  to  another.  It  is  especially 
adapted  for  use  in  rich  and  narrow  gulches  which  could  not  possibly 
be  worked  with  our  regular  gold  dredge.  It  has  a  wide  application, 
and  will  fill  a  long-felt  want. 

Its  Construction  and  Operation. 

The  "Drag  Bucket  Gold  Dredge"  is  the  acme  of  simplicity.  It  is 
in  reality  but  a  combination  effected  by  us  of  two  old,  well-known 
and  successful  methods,  namely,  the  drag  line  bucket  excavator  and 
the  washing  and  gold  saving  part  of  our  regular  dredge. 


This  "Drag  Bucket"  excavator  is  mounted  on  rails  and  operates 
ahead  of  the  washing  apparatus.  It  has  a  long  boom  (about  lOO  feet 
in  length)  from  the  outer  end  of  which  the  bucket  is  operated  by  a 
cable  line.     The  whole  apparatus  is  mounted  upon  a  turn-table  and 


THE       ''DRAG       BUCKET       GOLD       DREDGE'' 

carried  upon  trucks  which  permits  of  the  machine  being  swung  in  a 
complete  circle,  thus  digging  an  area  nearly  200  feet  in  diameter,  with- 
out moving  from  its  position.  It  can  dig  50  feet  or  more  below  its 
own  level,  and  will  handle  the  hardest  kind  of  ground,  including 
boulders  up  to  1,000  pounds  weight. 

With  this  large  radius  of  action  it  is  apparent  that  the  machine 
may  be  operated  all  day  from  one  spot,  taking  up  the  material  and 
dumping  it  at  any  point  desired.  The  excavator,  mounted  on  the 
bank,  delivers  its  load  into  the  washing  apparatus,  which  is  carried  on 
a  floating  scow,  and  from  here  on  the  material  passes  through  the  same 
operation  as  that  employed  in  our  regular  gold  dredge,  which  is  as 
follows : 

The  gravel  is  fed  into  a  large  revolving  screen,  while  a  centrifugal 
pump  furnishes  ample  water  for  washing.  In  this  screen  the  gravel  is 
thoroughly  washed,  the  finer  material  passing  through  the  perfora- 
tions and  then  on  to  the  gold  saving  tables,  where  the  gold  is  recov- 
ered and  the  tailings  sluiced  to  the  stern  of  the  scow,  the  over-size 
from  the  screen  passing  on  to  the  stacker  which  conveys  it  to  the  de- 
sired height  and  distance  behind  the  scow  and  on  to  the  tailing  pile. 

Disposal  of  the  Tailings. 

Four  side  or  corner  lines  and  a  spud  serve  to  anchor  or  move  the 
washing  scow  into  any  position  desired.  The  bucket  excavator  on 
the  bank  digs  toward  itself  (as  shown  in  the  accompanying  illustra- 
tion), and  gradually  moves  ahead,  while  the  washing  scow  follows 
close  behind  in  the  pond.  Here  we  have  all  the  advantages  of  a  gold 
dredge,  the  gravel  being  thoroughly  washed,  the  highest  saving  of 
values  effected,  and  the  tailings  conveniently  disposed  of. 

As  experienced  placer  miners  know,  the  disposal  of  the  tailings 
is  one  of  the  most  difficult  problems  encountered  in  handling  large 
quantities  of  material,  and  is  often  overlooked  in  the  planning  of 
operations,  only  to  be  realized  later  when  the  enterprise  is  a  failure. 

Our  "Drag  Bucket  Gold  Dredge"  overcomes  this  difficulty  com- 
pletely. 

Its  Superiority  to  the  Steam  Shovel. 

In  many  instances  steam  shovels,  with  gold  washing  apparatus 
mounted  on  a  car,  have  been  installed  and  in  nearly  every  such 
instance  failure  has  been  the  result.  Much  time  is  necessarily  lost  in 
moving  the  shovel  and  the  washing  apparatus,  as  the  steam  shovel 
has  a  very  small  radius  of  action  and  must  be  moved  frequently  during 


NEW        YORK         ENGINEERING         COMPANY 

the  day.  Many  of  these  outfits,  with  a  theoretical  capacity  of  two 
thousand  yards  a  day,  have  been  found  in  actual  working  practice  to 
average  not  over  two  hundred  to  three  hundred  yards,  because  of  the 
loss  of  time  involved  in  moving,  and  because  of  their  inability  to  dis- 
pose of  the  tailings  in  an  expeditious  and  satisfactory  manner,  or 
through  trouble  in  securing  the  necessary  supply  of  water  for  washing 
the  gravel. 

The  apparatus  being  so  frequently  on  the  move,  much  labor  is 
required,  and  it  is  difficult  to  carry  the  water  supply  along  with  it,  and 
even  when  this  is  accomplished,  the  water  has  a  tendency  to  run  back 
and  undermine  the  trucks  upon  which  the  apparatus  rests,  which 
results  in  many  shut-downs. 

The  "Drag  Bucket  Gold  Dredge"  overcomes  all  of  these  diffi- 
culties as  it  is  mounted  on  the  bank  above  the  water,  and  always  digs 
behind  itself,  the  washing  being  done  at  a  lower  level. 

Only  a  Small  Amount  of  Water  Required. 

While  it  is  necessary  for  the  washing  scow  to  be  floated,  this  does 
not  mean  that  its  operation  is  confined  to  a  lake  or  river,  or  that  a 
large  amount  of  water  is  required.  On  the  contrary,  the  same  condi- 
tions exist  as  in  gold  dredging,  that  is,  the  water  may  be  pumped  from 
any  distance  to  form  a  small  pond  in  which  to  float  the  scow.  The 
excavator,  digging  in  front  of  the  scow,  and  to  any  depth,  provides 
ample  flotation  for  the  scow,  which  dumps  the  material  to  its  stern 
and  thus  fills  in  behind  itself.  The  pond  thus  advances  with  the  scow, 
the  water  being  used  over  and  over  again.  To  replace  seepage  and 
evaporation,  a  small  supply  of  fresh  water  is  steadily  admitted,  approx- 
imately 500  gallons  per  minute.  This  also  prevents  the  water  from 
becoming  too  thick  as  in  gold  dredging  operations. 

No  Trouble  in  Moving  When  Necessary. 

An  admirable  feature  of  our  apparatus  is  the  ease  with  which  it 
may  be  moved  from  place  to  place.  The  excavator  is  mounted  upon 
two  rails  twelve  feet  apart,  and  is  self-propelling,  while  the  washing 
scow  follows  along  in  the  pond  at  the  rear.  The  excavator,  with  its 
lOO-foot  boom,  covers  a  digging  area  of  3,500  square  yards.  This 
amount  of  material  it  will  handle  without  moving  from  one  place,  so 
that  moves  are  consequently  "few  and  far  between." 

The  excavator  is  equipped  with  its  own  boiler  and  engines,  is 
self-contained,  and  with  its  propelling  mechanism  is  a  complete  unit 


THE 


•DRAG       BUCKET       GOLD       DREDGE'' 


in  itself;  while  the  washing  apparatus  on  the  scow  also  has  its  own 
boilervand  engines.  Electric  motors  or  gasoline  engines,  however,  may- 
be used  for  operating  the  apparatus  on  the  washer. 

Our  Specialty  Gold  Dredging  Engineering. 

The  "Drag  Bucket  Gold  Dredge"  is  destined  to  become  most 
important  in  placer  mining,  and  it  is  with  considerable  pride  that  we 
present  this  highly  efficient  apparatus  to  the  mining  world. 

We  are  pioneers  in  this  work,  and  make  a  specialty  of  designing 
and  building  gold  dredging  machinery  only. 

We  were  the  first  to  establish  the  practice  of  designing  and 
constructing  each  dredge  to  suit  the  conditions  under  which  it  must 
operate,  instead  of  supplying  a  stock  dredge  of  one  design  for  all 
conditions,  as  other  manufacturers  theretofore  had  done. 

EMPIRE    DRILL 


We  at  the  same  time  realized  the  demand  for  an  efficient  pros- 
pecting method  in  placer  work  that  should  be  inexpensive,  and  to 
meet  it  we  introduced  the  "EMPIRE  DRILL,"  which  has  since 
become  the  standard  method  of  placer  prospecting. 


We  now  present  a  new  method  of  dredging  upon  small  and 
restricted  areas  or  upon  rough,  rolling  or  hilly  ground,  as  an  outfit 
inexpensive  to  install,  of  large  capacity,  and  economical  and  successful 
in  its  operation. 


NEW        YORK         ENGINEERING         COMPANY 


Equipment. 

The  excavator  is  ordinarily  equipped  with  a  bucket  of  one  and 
one-quarter  cubic  yards  capacity,  although  smaller  or  larger  sizes  can 
be  used.  Equipped  with  the  yard  and  one-quarter  bucket,  it  will  dig 
approximately  2,000  cubic  yards  of  material  per  day  of  24  hours. 
This,  of  course,  is  subject  to  variations  according  to  the  nature  of  the 
materials  and  local  conditions. 

CLAY    WASHING    MACHINERY 


In  our  perfected  and  thoroughly  tried  out  clay  washing  machine 
we  offer  one  of  the  most  valuable  devices  ever  developed  in  the  history 
of  placer  mining. 

It  is  well  known  that  there  are  many  deposits  rich  in  values,  but 
of  a  clayey  character,  that  have  resisted  all  attempts  at  profitable 
mining.    To  meet  such  conditions  we  build  a  special  washing  appara- 


tus that  we  guarantee  to  successfully  handle  both  clay  and  ground 
containing  gravel  and  clay  mixed.  For  material  containing  only  a 
small  amount  of  clay,  or  clay  and  gravel  mixed,  we  build  a  large  clay 
disintegrating  and  washing  machine  through  which  all  the  material 
passes  before  reaching  the  screen  and  gold  saving  tables.  This 
machine  completely  breaks  up  the  clay,  which  then  passes  into  the 


THE       ''DRAG       BUCKET       GOLD       DREDGE'' 

screen,  together  with  the  gravel,  where  it  is  washed  in  the  ordinary- 
way  and  the  values  recovered  on  our  regular  gold  saving  tables. 

When  the  deposit  is  nearly  all  clay,  with  little  or  no  gravel,  the 
material  will  require  much  more  washing,  and  instead  of  passing  it 
over  the  gold  saving  tables,  it  is  conveyed  from  the  screen  into  a 
number  of  small  clay  washers  and  concentrators  which  thoroughly 
complete  the  -work  begun  in  the  larger  machine,  breaking  up  the  clay 
and  liberating  the  values.  These  values  are  then  concentrated  or 
caught  in  the  bottom  of  the  washers,  while  the  tailings  are  sluiced  to 
the  stern  of  the  scow,  as  usual. 

Clay  Washers. 

These  clay  washers  consist  of  a  long  central  shaft  revolving  in  a 
steel  trough,  U  shaped,  this  shaft  having  manganese  steel  arms  or 
beaters  arranged  along  its  length  in  a  spiral  order  so  that  as  the  shaft 
revolves  it  will  work  the  clay  from  the  feed  end  to  the  discharge  end 
of  the  U  shaped  trough,  thoroughly  beating  it,  and  thus  disintegrating 
the  clay,  under  water. 

The  gold  values  are  liberated  and  run  back  to  the  lower  end  of 
the  washer,  as  it  is  set  on  an  incline  with  the  discharge  end  higher 


than  the  feed  end.    In  actual  practice  most  all  of  the  gold  is  recovered 
in  the  first  quarter  of  the  length  of  the  machine. 

These  clay  washers  may  be  used  on  our  regular  gold  dredge,  as 
well  as  on  our  "Drag  Bucket  Gold  Dredge."  The  complete  success 
that  has  attended  the  use  of  our  clay  washers  on  deposits  that  had 
been  practically  abandoned  as  unworkable  because  of  their  clayey 
nature,  warrants  us  in  positively  guaranteeing  that  they  will  success- 
fully handle  deposits  of  this  character  in  every  instance. 


NEW 


YORK         ENGINEERING 


COMPANY 


We  make  various  sizes  of  these  clay  disintegrates  from  250  yds. 
up  to  3,000  yds.  capacity  per  day  and  any  number  can  be  arranged  in 
banks  or  batteries  for  any  capacity  desired. 

If  you  have  such  a  property,  you  will  do  well  to  lose  no  time  in 
conferring  with  us.  We  can  furnish  the  means  to  turn  your  unsuc- 
cessful workings  into  paying  ones. 

If  you  can  not  raise  capital  enough  to  equip  your  property  with 
our  regular  California  type  of  dredge,  then  write  us  for  specifications 
and  price  on  our  "Drag  Bucket  Gold  Dredge." 


NEW  YORK  ENGINEERING  COMPANY, 
No.  2  Rector  Street,  New  York. 


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